Firearm simulating weapon toys, which fire either a liquid or solid objects, are well known. Such liquid and solid object-firing toy weapons are particularly enjoyed because they raise the level of realistic play above non-liquid or object-firing toy weapons.
It is believed that a high level of enjoyment is achieved by users of such toys when such toys most closely simulate real firearms. In particular, it is believed desirable to simulate firearms by projecting a real object (charge of liquid or solid object) at an opponent so that if the shooter's aim is sufficiently good, the opponent is actually hit.
In addition, it is believed that such toy users also highly regard those types of shooting toys which safely mark an opponent who is hit to preclude any disagreements as to whether a hit occurred. Water pistols have always been highly regarded in that the person (or object) struck is wetted and confirmation of the hit can be easily made. Generally speaking, solid object-firing projectile do not mark a struck opponent and therefore, are not as satisfactory as water pistols in this particular regard.
One class of toy weapon has been developed which is safe for adults and children of all ages. This class includes light firing toy weapons and light-sensitive targets worn by the participants. The drawback of such systems is that the light-responsive targets typically have only a limited field of view so that if the light source is not sufficiently aligned with the target, such targets will not respond as being struck even though the player wearing the target was illuminated by the light beam.
Adults have raised the level of realism with the use of paint-ball firing guns. Paint-filled gelatin balls are fired by condensed CO.sub.2 gas or compressed air for relatively long distances. Such paint balls spatter their contents over whatever object they may hit. Such weapons and projectiles, while generally safe, still carry an element of significant potential danger considering their size and the velocity at which they are propelled. Accordingly, users are typically adults and older teenagers and conventionally wear protective clothing to cushion the impact of being struck and to protect themselves against the contents of the balls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,944 discloses an interesting hybrid weapon firing a water-soaked solid foam projectile. This device combines the bullet-simulating characteristics of a solid projectile firing toy weapon with the potential marking and wetting capability of a water pistol. Such weapon would be safe for children.
It is believed that different realistic simulated toy weapons would be greatly desired by those who play with such weapons, if such realistic simulated toy weapon could be devised and safely used.